Starbucks Mugs from Around the World

On the 3rd of November Starbucks in Japan revealed the 2011 Christmas merchandise which included this year’s Starbucks Christmas mug, several other mugs exclusive to this year, their Christmas Blend coffee beans, the new Barista Bear and heaps of other Christmas goodies.

With the 2011 Starbucks Christmas mugs just around the corner I totally wasn’t expecting this when I walked into a Starbucks yesterday!

Turns out Starbucks is celebrating 15 years in Japan this year and as part of the celebration (or rather the only thing they’re doing to celebrate this milestone) they’ve released a mug and a series of tumblers.

Starbucks Japan 15 Years Anniversary / Birthday Mug

The entire mug (even the inside) is a creamy colour that’s quite unusual for a Starbucks mug. It features the new Starbucks logo on one side and a giant “15” on the other which is textured with silhouettes of people carrying and drinking from coffee mugs.

There’s heaps of stars, some of which are metallic gold and an artistic rendition of a city’s skyline.

The mug definitely does a good job of creating the whole “birthday” vibe though I kind of wish they tried a bit more to include some Japanese aspects. Sure it mentions “Starbucks Japan” at the bottom of the mug on the inside (which I enjoyed) and there’s a family of dharma dolls which is cool but the skyline features none of Tokyo’s recognisable buildings such as Tokyo Tower or the new Tokyo Sky Tree.

Perhaps a future mug like the 2012 Japan mug is planned to use these buildings, especially since the Tokyo Sky Tree is due to open next year. Hmmm… what do you think?

This has to definitely be one of my favourite Japanese Starbucks Mug designs. As I mentioned in my previous post about the old Okinawa Starbucks Mug I absolutely LOVE Okinawa! It has it’s own unique culture and language and this mug really reflects that as well as it’s ocean, tropical vibe.

New Starbucks Japanese Okinawa Mug

I LOVE the guardian lion, Shisa and think it was a brilliant idea on the artist’s part to illustrate the two lions as a blend of guardian beast and lobster/yabbie to really make them unique to Okinawa. The colours are beautiful and really does remind me of where this mug is from. Well done Starbucks!

My favourite place in Japan definitely has to be Okinawa. If you ever make it to Japan I can’t recomend enough a trip down to these beautiful southern islands. The people are fantastic, the culture fascinating and the scenery straight out of a postcard. (On a side note, if you’re curious about some modern Okinawan music, check out albums by the Okinawan twin DJs, RyukyuDisko. Awesome stuff.)

Old Starbucks Japanese Okinawa Mug

I bought this mug a few years ago when I went to Naha (the capital of Okinawa). It’s an awesome design featuring one of the rock statues of Shi-Sa, the guardian lion that you see EVERYWHERE in Okinawa. Note that it’s the same statue featured twice on this mug and not paired with it’s partner that you normally see (one with mouth open, one with mouth closed). The photo and video you see in this post weren’t filmed in Okinawa however. I actually took my mug to Zushi, a beach near Tokyo a few days ago for this media.

Not including the 2006 Japan Starbucks mug, this 2008 mug would be the second rare annual Starbucks mug that I bought during my time in Japan. This design was very popular and it was the first time that Starbucks started to realise how popular their annual mugs were with fans and collectors.

Japan 2008 Starbucks Mug

In addition to the mug, they also released this design on a tumbler and a furoshiki (a traditional silk towel used for wrapping things and even carrying things). I love the ume (plum) blossoms and the modern pop take on traditional Japanese artwork. What do you think?

I’m really making an effort to create a unique look with each Starbucks mug video I film with scenes that reflect the theme of the mug. If you like what I’ve done, don’t hesitate to subscribe to my YouTube Channel for more Starbucks mugs and other videos I’ve made of my travels in Japan.

An example of another video I made is this one of a new Starbucks in Kamakura which features it’s own outdoors swimming pool and traditional tatami seating area!

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25 Cafes

25Cafes.com is a cool new project I've started working on where I travel around the world and write reviews on all the best, trendiest and coolest cafes I find!

Right now I'm starting with cafes in Tokyo, Japan (where I live) but will soon expand as I travel (hoping to do some cities in China and Australia soon!)

Please check it out and don't forget to comment and share it with other people who love to travel, enjoy coffee and finding new places!

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